


Maybe Next Year

by ellipsis_for_all



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Model AU, Model Lance (Voltron), Photographer Shiro (Voltron), Shance Holiday Exchange 2019, another tag!!, this is like... the beginning of a romance, veryyy low key, watch as shiro develops a crush and refuses to acknowledge it until almost the end, wow that's a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22126288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellipsis_for_all/pseuds/ellipsis_for_all
Summary: Keith drained the last of his coffee. “Got a model in mind already?”“Not yet.” Shiro took another sip. “Don’t know how much work I’ll get done. Just because I have some time off, doesn’t mean everyone else does. I’ll probably end up going through one of the local agencies.”“I know somebody,” Keith offered.“You know somebody,” Shiro teased, and Keith threw a sugar packet at him.(in which Keith helps a bro out with a project and might also have wingmanned him)
Relationships: Background Heith - Relationship, Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 145





	Maybe Next Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dear_queers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dear_queers/gifts).



It had been Keith actually, sleep deprived and exhausted, who had been the catalyst for their meeting. But Shiro liked to think that given the surprising amount of friends they shared, they would have always met. Somewhere down the line. 

Shiro had been at Keith’s university for one of their usual, though sporadically timed, meet-ups. He balanced the tray of coffee carefully in one hand, while the other cradled his equipment bag in case of a spill. Which was, Shiro had to admit, at least somewhat likely. He navigated his way through the crush of students looking for something to get them through finals week. 

Finally, he made it to the table of one such student, their head buried in their arms. 

“You alive?” Shiro said, setting down the drinks. One for him, two for Keith. Shiro should probably doing something to curb Keith’s reliance on caffeine, but if repeated warnings of stunted growth during his adolescence hadn’t stopped him, nothing would. 

It would also be hypocritical besides. This was technically Shiro’s third cup. He’d made himself two cups at home. 

A muffled groan and then, Keith lifted his head to blink blearily at Shiro. He didn’t dignify that question with a response. Instead, he reached for a cup, popped the lid, sniffed at it, and then chugged it. Shiro took a calmer sip of his own coffee.

“How many finals left?” he asked. 

“Just one,” Keith said, when he finally detached himself from his beverage. “Tomorrow, then I’m free. What about you?”

“I got a job in Hawaii, but it’s pretty easy. I’ll basically be off through New Year’s.” 

“You?” he said skeptically. “You haven’t had time off for the holidays since Adam.”

“Before actually,” Shiro said, hiding a wince. 

The wonders his work ethic had done for his freelancing career was inversely proportional to the damage it had done to his love life. He’d slowed down eventually, he’d had to after his accident, but by that point there hadn’t been any partner to appreciate it. 

“So you’re going to make up for it by working anyways,” Keith guessed, unconcerned. He was not one to judge. He already had two jobs lined up for winter break, now that his work study and shifts at the student center were paused. 

“Yeah, but nothing big. I’ll probably just work on a new portfolio.” 

“What’s the theme?” 

“Water. But like in summer,” he said, and Keith barked a laugh. “Yeah, I know, hell of a time to do it, but.” He shrugged. 

“Well,” Keith said contemplatively. “You’ll be in Hawaii. Shouldn’t be too hard to get someone in the water. What are you thinking of doing with it?” 

The coffee was only partially responsible for the sharp awareness in his eyes. Keith had always loved talking about projects with Shiro, even when he’d been a tiny, wary thing. 

“Symbiosis,” Shiro said. “I’m not sure, but I want something that’ll remind people that we came from water. Elemental, kind of.” 

Keith drained the last of his coffee. “Got a model in mind already?”

“Not yet.” Shiro took another sip. “Don’t know how much work I’ll get done. Just because I have some time off, doesn’t mean everyone else does. I’ll probably end up going through one of the local agencies.” 

“I know somebody,” Keith offered.

“You know somebody,” Shiro teased, and Keith threw a sugar packet at him. 

“He’s not, like, _your_ kind of model, but he’s modeled for a lot of art classes. He’s pretty good at it.” 

“Art model,” Shiro clarified, and then frowned. “Keith, I don’t know—” 

“Hold on and shut up,” he said and started to dig into his bag. He pulled out one of his sketchbooks, and the sight of it made Shiro smile. Keith had gone through a lot of sketchbooks over the years. At first, he’d been so careful about using them, making them last. It took a lot for him to get comfortable enough to use them whenever he wanted. 

Keith flipped through some pages, stopped, and then stood up. “Here,” he said. “Look through these. I’m gonna get another coffee.” 

He handed it off, his thumb tucked between the pages until Shiro carefully took it. Shiro flipped it open, and immediately, he could see what Keith meant. 

First there was the elegance of his body. Keith’s friend was long and lean. Athletic clearly, but the lines weren’t harsh. They curved and dipped. Secondly, there was an apparent ability to appear utterly at ease. As Shiro went through Keith’s sketches, it was clear the model had no issues holding any position. He looked as comfortable in a standing pose as he did in a sprawled one. 

His face didn’t hurt either, though Shiro didn’t see it until the fourth sketch. Keith’s earlier sketches focused on him in profile or from the back. He had a pretty, expressive face. The kind that invited you to keep looking, that you were welcome to take him in. 

But it wasn’t until the last sketch that he was convinced. 

It was among the more ambitious of Keith’s attempts for sure. It was the only one that had an actual reference. The model was twined around a rope, suspended upside down. Next to the drawing was a photo, paper clipped onto the page. Keith had done an amazing job capturing the moment in ink, but his photography skills were more adequate than anything. Yet even with that, Shiro now knew the model had warm brown skin and dark blue eyes. His eyes were half closed, as if caught in a sigh. 

“He was blasting Florence and the Machine during this one,” Keith said as he came up behind Shiro. “He does like to have playlists on, so fair warning. But I guess that won’t matter if you're shooting out in the water.” 

Shiro hummed and flipped back to an earlier sketch of the model, climbing a chain link fence. At home, Shiro thought, that was the thing. He always looked at home. “What’s his name?”

“Lance."

-

In the end, Keith had smugly given him Lance’s number.

“He’s there for a wedding but that’s on the 20th. He’ll be free afterwards.”

Shiro had noted that and then told Keith to let him know when he could message Lance. 

“What do you mean?” he’d asked.

“So you can give him a heads up first,” Shiro explained. “So he’s not thrown when an unknown number starts texting him about a modelling gig.” 

“Oh,” Keith said. “Right.” 

It was late in the evening when he got a text. 

_hes been warned_

Shiro rolled his eyes and shot out a quick message to Lance. _Hey! My name’s Shiro, I’m Keith’s photographer friend. He recommended you for a project I’m doing. Feel free to let me know if you’re interested. If not, no worries._

Almost immediately his phone rang. He looked at the number and answered, amused. “Shiro speaking.”

“Hey Shiro! I’m Lance,” the voice laughed a little. “Probably obvious from the timing, but yeah. Hi.” 

“Hey,” Shiro said, smiling. “I’m guessing you’re interested?”

“My dude, I’ve seen your prints in Keith’s room. I’m _definitely_ interested.”

-

“Got everything?” Shiro asked, mentally tallying off all the stuff they would need. 

“Snacks packed, phone charged, nude swimming shorts on,” Lance said, flashing him a thumbs up. 

It was Shiro’s opinion that you worked best with people you knew, or were at least comfortable with. Getting along with the person on the other side of the camera was important. He’d done shoots when that wasn’t the case, and it was always a chore. You needed to be able to talk to each other, and like most things having to do with people, it was easier to talk to someone you liked. 

Lance was easy to like. 

They’d Skyped a few times after their call, and Shiro found out quickly that Lance was twice as friendly as he sounded on the phone and pretty much down for anything. Shiro had outlined what his plans were, and Lance listened attentively. His eyes gleamed whenever Shiro talked about getting in the water. 

He was from Cuba, Shiro had learned. Varadero specifically, and he’d learned how to swim before he could walk. He was also familiar with some of the local beaches, on account of his best friend Hunk, who he visited often because Hunk was “wonderful and awesome.” Shiro had wanted someone who’d be at ease in the ocean, and he couldn’t have found a better candidate. 

Shiro’s inkling that Lance could be comfortable pretty much anywhere, increased over the last few days. He rested easily in the passenger seat, despite only having rode once in the rented car with Shiro a few days ago. It’d been the same thing at the diner where Shiro and him had met for the first time. Lance had laughed and talked and looked so at home, Shiro half expected him to duck into the kitchen whenever he needed something. 

“Is Hunk okay with you ducking out for the next few days?” Shiro asked, listening to the GPS on his phone. 

“Oh yeah. The wedding’s over, but Christmas and New Year’s are coming up, so he’s getting ready for that. All the food and stuff. Usually he lets me help in the kitchen, but since he’s at home, he’s not hurting for hands.” 

“He’s good at cooking then?” Lance could talk about pretty much anything, but Shiro learned that he especially liked to talk up his friends. 

“The best!” He saw Lance cradle his stomach. “Eating his food is like having your taste buds blessed by the culinary gods. That’s actually how him and Keith starting dating. He had some brownies left over from an event he was helping with, and he offered one to Keith and then he took a bite and asked Hunk out before he finished swallowing.” 

“ _Really_.” Shiro made an immediate note to bother Keith later. 

“Yeah,” Lance said. “He wanted to invite Keith to the wedding, but he thought it was too soon. Plus he has a big family, and it’s the holidays, so he thought it would be like throwing Keith to the wolves. Oh, you’re gonna wanna turn over here to park.” 

Shiro did and he was pleased to see the beach almost bereft of people. Makua was one of the quieter beaches on Oahu, which was why they’d chosen it. The waters, Shiro had researched, could be rough and the ocean bottom dropped off quickly, but since they’d be sticking to the shore, Lance said it would be fine. 

“I’m a licensed beach lifeguard, if that helps,” Lance had added over his french toast. 

It did, Shiro admitted. He knew how to swim, but he generally stuck to pools. And he definitely didn’t want to rely solely on his ability while on the job with a new model. 

Speaking of, he turned to Lance. If he was nervous about his first modelling job outside of art classes, he didn’t show it. 

“Ready to get in the water?” Shiro asked. 

Lance grinned, so brightly that Shiro half wished he had his camera out already. 

“Always,” he said. 

-

Lance shrugged off his hoodie and pants with practiced ease, and his skin glowed in the sunlight. Shiro already knew it would show beautifully on film. He called back over his shoulder to Shiro, who was setting up his equipment over the hood of his car. “I’m heading in.” 

“Go for it,” Shiro said, gesturing to his things. “I’ll be a few minutes.” 

He watched Lance from the corner of his eye. He took off his sandals as soon as he could, and walked gracefully towards the shore, hardly kicking up any sand. The next time Shiro looked up, Lance was standing in the water, close to his waist.

Finally, Shiro was ready, he swung his own waterproof bag over his shoulder and headed out to join him. 

Up close, Shiro could see that Lance’s swimming shorts matched his skin tone nicely. He looked as close to naked as they could get without being arrested. Lance had either gone underwater or been hit by a big enough wave, because he was completely wet now. His dark brown hair was only a few shades from black, and curling.

Lance must have heard him, because he turned to face Shiro and broke into a smile. Shiro snapped a picture. It came out well, though it wouldn’t be one he’d use for the portfolio. He still needed to adjust some of the settings, after he took a few practice shots, but otherwise… Shiro had a good feeling. 

“Let’s get started,” he said and lifted his camera. 

-

Modelling was a game of communication. Good models, like good photographers, could intuit quite a lot about what needed to be done for a shoot. But even the best models needed some input, and newer models even more. Shiro was prepared to spend extra time on that, but Lance took direction easily. 

And truthfully, he didn’t need that much of it. If Shiro thought that Lance had fit the theme before, it was twice as true now. Lance really could look comfortable anywhere, but it _really_ felt like he belonged in the water. He never seemed to lose his balance, and he knew just how to take the bigger waves that hit him. 

“Do you think you can go out a little further? Yeah, now like you’re rising. Good.”

Lance’s eyes were brilliant, their darker blue color made it seem as if they were bringing a little of the depths to the lighter water around them. He got a few shots of Lance almost completely underwater, only his eyes peeking out. He also got a fantastic one of Lance, floating sideways, facing the camera, with half his body in the water. 

An additional blessing, which Shiro had not thought of, was that Lance was capable of holding his breath longer than most people. Which meant Shiro got a lot more frames sans air bubbles than he originally expected. 

When Shiro finally called it a day, Lance walked out of the water only slightly less gracefully than he went in. 

Lance reached into his bag and pulled out a water bottle, guzzling it down. He dropped it back in and pulled out a Gatorade next. “How’d we do?” He took a few long swallows from his drink and then tossed it back into the bag as well. He then pulled out a towel and started to dry himself. 

“Good,” he said immediately. “I’ll need to go through them, but I got a good group. You did great.”

Lance beamed from underneath his fluffy towel. “What’s next boss?”

“You don’t have to call me boss, Lance,” Shiro reminded him. 

“Sure thing boss.” Lance appeared to have deemed himself dry enough because he pulled his hoodie and loose pants back on. “What’s next?”

“We’ll meet up at 11 tomorrow, so we can get the afternoon sun. But for now.” Shiro heard a stomach rumble, and he wasn’t quite sure who’s it was, nor did he really care. “We’re getting lunch, my treat.”

Lance opened his mouth, ready to argue, and Shiro raised a hand. “Boss’ prerogative,” he said, with a straight face. 

Lance huffed a laugh, and they walked back to the car in companionable silence. 

-

Shiro looked through the final day’s photos and hummed, pleased. 

He heard Lance order their last round of drinks to go, at this point familiar with Shiro’s preferences. He took his time going through his shots, pausing every now and then for a particularly good one. They came up often. 

It had been a good shoot, and a challenging one. Shiro had thought he was prepared to shoot in the water, only to land on his ass _at least_ half a dozen times. Each time, Lance’s laughter rang in the air and a hand would appear to pull him up. 

At this point in his career, Shiro had taken photos on many a precarious ground and always found his balance eventually. But the ocean, well, _moved_ and Shiro lost his footing constantly, especially when he was underwater. Luckily, Lance was pretty much always at the ready, patiently waiting for Shiro. Between his relative inexperience in professional modelling and skill in the water, and Shiro’s skill in photography and relative inexperience in the water, they balanced out. 

And they’d finished strong today. One of the best shots of the whole project had been one of their last ones. It was Lance, lit by the setting sun and gliding through the ocean. It never looked like he was forcing his way through the water, instead it looked like he’d always been there. He was beautiful in motion. 

Shiro smelled, rather than felt, the coffee placed next to him. He popped the plastic lid and drank it with gusto. 

“Isn’t that, like your sixth cup today? I am enabling an addiction?” Lance asked. 

“It’s like my ninth actually,” Shiro said. “So absolutely.” He heard thunder rumbling and hitched his bag onto his shoulder. “We better head out now if you want to catch your flight back to Hunk’s place.”

Lance nodded, took a sip of his own drink, hot chocolate Shiro knew, and stood. “Let’s roll boss.”

-

When Shiro had told Lance they should head out so he could catch his flight, he meant it. It was just... The rain had started pouring almost immediately after they’d gotten into the car. And as Shiro drove, he noticed how Lance, even enclosed by metal and glass, seemed to _fit_ the weather outside. Shadows draped along his body, and his eyes were dark with contentment at the storm. And when Shiro saw the glow of a single street lamp, surrounded almost entirely by trees, he couldn’t help himself. 

“Up for one more shoot?” 

“For real?” Lance said, turning and then nodding. “Of course for real. Okay.” He straightened in his seat. “What am I wearing?” 

“Do you still have your swimming shorts on?” Lance gave an affirmative and started to kick off his pants. “Wait, hold on.”

Shiro twisted towards the backseat and rummaged through a bag of clothing he’d brought along, but decided not to use. Finally, his fingers touched thin, soft cotton, and he found what he needed. He pulled out a pretty, oversized white shirt. He tossed it to Lance. 

“Wear this too.” 

Lance, game as ever, pulled off his hoodie, and slipped into it. “What am I doing?” 

Shiro thought how Lance moved in water, how he moved in general. “Keith said you dance?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Dance then,” Shiro said. “However you want. This is pretty impromptu, so we’re just gonna wing it.”

Lance stretched and rolled his shoulders. “My specialty.” 

-

It was their shortest session, maybe five minutes in total. 

They scrambled out of the car, Shiro still changing his settings, and headed towards the street light. Shiro shot a half prayer that no one would pay attention to the parked car on the side of the street. 

Once Shiro gave the go ahead, Lance began to move. He didn’t know what song Lance was moving _to_ , but it must have been a slow one. It was clear he had some classical training. Shiro recognized the curves his body made, the elegance in his turns. 

The shirt was completely soaked through, just the slightest barrier between the night air and Lance’s skin. In his swimming shorts, it looked like the shirt was the only thing Lance had on. It clung to his muscles, catching water that ran down his limbs. 

Shiro took a flurry of shots, blinking the water out of his eyes. Lance’s own eyes were closed. He didn’t need them to know what he was doing. He wasn’t smiling, but his face gave off a sense of fierce joy. As if dancing in the rain was his greatest pleasure in life. It probably was. 

The street lamp was a spotlight, and Lance moved easily within it. He made a deceptively simple twist, with his feet completely bare, and Shiro made a note to apologize to him for that later. 

For a few minutes, all that existed was Lance, the rain, and Shiro’s camera. 

What finally broke through his reverie was the lightning that flashed in the sky, and illuminated his last few frames. Shiro, with a photographer’s instinct, had taken advantage of the sudden new light source, and snagged a few shots. But he wasn’t going to risk that again. 

“Lance!” He yelled, raising his voice. “We’re good! Let’s go!”

Shiro’s words caused a furrow in Lance’s brow, and he stopped what he was doing. He shook his head and opened his eyes. The rain made him squint, and he lifted his gaze to Shiro. “We’re done?”

Shiro nodded, and then as a pair, they ran back to the car. 

-

Shiro had cranked the heater on as soon as they were inside, dug out extra towels, but they were both still shivering. His heart sank when he saw the time on the dashboard. 

“I’m sorry Lance, I think we’re going to miss your flight.” 

Lance shrugged, more concerned with drying himself off. “First off, you paid for it, so it’s not my money. Secondly, the flights are cheaper in the morning anyways.” He frowned then. “I guess I will need a place to crash though, since I did check out of my hotel already.” 

“You can crash in my room,” Shiro offered. His clothing pulled uncomfortably at him, and he hoped the towel underneath would soak up most of the water. 

“Shiro—” 

“Lance,” Shiro said firmly. “I just asked you to go out into the rain in basically nothing, when I was supposed to be dropping you off at the airport.”

“True,” Lance conceded. “But FYI, it doesn’t take much to get me to frolic in the rain. I do that all the time.” 

Shiro gave a half laugh. “I’m sure. But my point stands.”

“Alright boss,” Lance said. “You win.”

“Damn straight.”

-

Shiro settled for another session of toweling off and changing clothes, but Lance glanced longingly towards the bathroom. 

“Is it alright if I—”

“Go for it,” he said. “I can shower after.”

Lance brightened. “Deuces,” he said. “But like I do take really long showers, so heads up.”

“Just a heads up then? No offers to wait for me to go first?” Shiro teased. He didn’t mind either way. He liked to get started as soon as possible, when the images of what he’d intended were still fresh in his mind. 

“Nope,” Lance said, popping the “p” gleefully. “You offered, no take backsies.” He promptly scooped up his bag and headed towards the bathroom.

“Have a good shower,” Shiro called out. 

“I will! Be out eventually!”

Still smiling, Shiro got to work. He uploaded his photos and began to sort them into three folders, definite yeses, possible yeses, and hard nos. It was something his friends always teased him about.

“It makes sense though,” Matt said once, thoughtfully. “You do compartmentalize like a motherfucker.” 

Shiro, fresh off a break up at the time and painfully aware as to how he had contributed to it, threw a french fry at him, but couldn’t really argue. 

Regardless, it was a process that worked for Shiro. Mostly because it forced him to look at everything with fresh eyes and immediately prioritize his best shots. He was pleased to see that his pile of hard nos was less than half. 

By the time he finished, Lance was standing next to him, handing him a cup of something warm. Shiro reached for it immediately, mumbled a thank you, and was surprised to find himself gulping down tea. 

“I figured anymore coffee at this point might actually kill you,” Lance explained. His hair was starting to curl again, more loose than tight. Saltwater made his hair especially curly, Shiro had learned. “Also, shower’s free.”

“Yeah.” He finished the rest of his tea in three swallows and stood. Part of him wanted to put off a shower till later, but he knew himself well enough to know that “later” would turn into tomorrow afternoon. Shiro could cop to being responsible for at least 25% of Keith’s rigorous work ethic.

He walked over to his luggage and pulled out fresh clothes, a loose t-shirt and pajama bottoms. More modest than the boxers he usually wore to bed, but he had company tonight. Professional company, he reminded himself. Even though it didn’t quite feel like it. 

Probably because at this point, Lance felt kind of like his friend. It wasn’t too odd, he supposed. Their friends _were_ dating, and Shiro was absolutely going to tease Keith about it later. Still, if Shiro was being honest, it probably had more to do with Lance himself. He was easy to be around. It seemed harder _to not_ be his friend.

He gestured to the bed on his way to the bathroom. “Go ahead and sleep,” Shiro said. 

Lance started, looking honestly like he believed he would be sleeping on the floor. “You don’t have to do that,” he said. “I can sleep anywhere.”

Shiro shook his head. “I’ll be working all night anyways. Someone should use it.”

Lance rubbed his eyes. He might have argued further, but he looked really tired. And well, Shiro had made him work in the ocean for several hours, and then dance in the rain, so his exhaustion was warranted. 

“Are you sure?” Lance asked at last. 

“I’m not going to bed until at least 5,” Shiro promised. “And I’d be doing that regardless of you being here. So someone really should use the bed.” 

“Okay boss.” He yawned. “You win.”

“Music to my ears,” Shiro said. “Goodnight Lance.”

“Night Shiro,” he heard. And from the corner of his eye, he saw Lance climb into bed.

It wasn’t until he was already under the shower that Shiro considered the fact that the model he was working with, was in his bed. Not like that, he told himself stubbornly. It was just the result of a series of inconveniences Shiro had caused. It was only right he fix it. 

As he worked his hair into a lather, he realized they would both smell like his body wash. 

-

He remembered dimly, walking carefully passed Lance to turn off the lights and then switching on the desk lamp. He remembered starting up Lightroom, and then. Everything turned into a haze. 

He edited the yes folder in about three hours, before going back to the possible yeses folder. He went through it again, found some promising shots, and went to work. He’d just finished, when a hand touched his shoulder gently.

“Hey,” Lance murmured. “I’m heading out now.” He smiled, jerking a thumb towards the bed. “Your turn now.” 

Shiro looked out the tiny slice of window he could see, and sure enough, the sun was rising. Late for him, but still pretty early for Lance. You sure, he tried to say, but a yawn came out as his jaw cracked. He should probably offer him a ride to the airport, he thought. 

“Come on,” Lance said and pulled him up from his chair. Shiro stumbled against him. Lance bore his weight easily and led him to the bed. Shiro almost fell onto the mattress and grasped loosely for his sheets. A warm hand reached down and dragged the sheets over him. 

“Rest man, I’ll be okay.” 

Promise, he might have asked, and tried to stay awake for the answer, but it was hard. His eyes were already closing. The curtains kept out most of the light, but some still spilled through, onto Lance. He was golden and smiling at him, and Shiro thought it was a good sight to fall asleep to. 

-

He spent another day going over his work before he was satisfied. He sent Lance a copy of his portfolio and got an enthusiastic text a few hours later, just as he boarded his flight back to Boston. 

_sorry for the late response (helping with new year’s party prep, also feel free to swing by for that if you’re still in town) but wow!!! these are amazing!!! knew they would be but still!! thank you for the opportunity!!_

Shiro counted the number of exclamation marks, ten, and shook his head. He typed _I’m heading out for Boston already, spending it with the Holts_ , and then, _Thank you for working with me. You did great_.

_easy to do when you got a great photographer to work with. safe flight man, say hi to the holts for me_

Shiro had to go on airplane mode after that, but he thought he would have said, _I will,_ and _You were great to work with too_. And then maybe, _Wish I could’ve gone to your party_.

It was for the best he hadn’t. That was probably veering off the track of professional, if friendly, conversation. 

Still, Shiro thought, maybe next year would be enough of a buffer for friendly, more personal talk. 

He leaned back in his seat, thinking of the friends he was heading towards, and the maybe friend he’d just met, and smiled. 

**Author's Note:**

> this is for my giftee, Dear_queers, and it's loosely inspired by their shance model!au, which is great by the way. this is basically the beginning of shiro's crush on lance, and it was a joy to write. i hope you enjoy this fic and happy holidays!!
> 
> here's to my first fic on ao3!!
> 
> (also this generated a ton of extra content in my head, so feel free to drop a line the comments. i for one, am still loling over shiro being like, now is too soon, next year is better. and next year is like, less than a week away)


End file.
